


in which Izuku apparently gets eaten by a computer

by TheViolentTomboy



Series: My Crossover Academia [2]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Parent Midoriya Inko, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Short Chapters, Temporary Character Death, tradeoff is trauma, who needs a quirk when you have a digimon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-01-10 09:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 7,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12296307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheViolentTomboy/pseuds/TheViolentTomboy
Summary: And gets spat out sufficiently traumatized. At least he doesn't come back alone.





	1. prologue

When Midoriya Izuku was four, he was officially diagnosed as quirkless. That night, through blurry, tear-filled eyes, he forced a smile on his face as he watched his favorite clip of All Might on the computer. His mother, Midoriya Inko, didn’t know what to do other than to throw her arms around him while sobbing out apologies.

When he was eight, while Izuku was browsing the internet, that same computer swallowed him whole in a burst of light. Inko had just stepped in with a plate of snacks to see her son disappear. The plate shattered on the ground as she screamed in horror.

It hadn’t even been ten minutes when the computer spat him back out onto the floor in another light show. (Inko was just about to call the police despite being sure that she’d be called mad.) Relief filled her heart only for it to just as quickly disappear at the sight of her son curled in on himself, wailing at the top of his lungs.

Inko had never seen him cry like this; it was pure, unadulterated grief and despair. Not even when he was diagnosed quirkless those years ago. _What on earth happened?! He was only gone for a few minutes!_

“Izuku!” she cried out, quickly kneeling down to gather him in her arms. He didn’t even seem to realize she was there.

That was when Inko noticed the brightly colored egg, roughly the size of an American football, clutched tightly to his chest like a lifeline.

 _"I'm sorry,"_ Izuku kept blubbering out, his tears streaming down his cheeks and onto the egg. _"I'm so sorry."_


	2. first meal back

She’d already been planning to make teriyaki for dinner, but Inko decided to forgo that idea in lieu of katsudon. Izuku had stopped crying and was sitting at the table. Last she checked, his red-rimmed eyes were dull and lifeless, staring down at the egg that was nestled snugly in his lap. Perhaps his favorite meal would get him to open up to her on _what exactly happened_.

Sure enough, when Inko set the heaping, steaming bowl in front of him, he blinked at it, a little light returning in those eyes. Slowly, tentatively, he took his chopsticks and brought a piece of the breaded pork to his lips. Inko held her breath as he chewed.

“It’s…really good,” Izuku mumbled before finishing the piece and immediately going for another.

From the other side of the table, Inko let out a small sigh of relief and smiled gently at him. “There’s enough for seconds if you want.”

Izuku burst into tears anew, but didn’t stop shoving the food into his mouth. “Mom…your cooking really is the best. _I missed it so much_.”

Inko didn’t know what to make of his words, so she simply stayed silent as her son demolished his bowl. She had prepared breakfast and lunch for him today, and she had made katsudon last week.

-

_I’m home. I'm home. There’s so much in my world I want to show you, so please, come back to me, Gumi-chan._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am probably not going to get very far with this. -_-


	3. first flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...Izuku's Digimon partner's In-training form is Gummymon. ^-^ 
> 
> Also, I'm probably going to be using a mix of original and dub terms, whatever suits my needs or sounds better.

* * *

 

__

 

* * *

 

_He only manages to find two apples. Izuku bites into one of them. It’s crisp and crunchy but the flavor is oddly subdued. He thinks of the apple slices his mom sometimes packs into his lunch and how much better they taste._

_Gumi-chan, meanwhile is doing his best to attack his own piece of fruit, which proves difficult as he doesn’t have any limbs. Izuku can’t help the bubble of laughter escaping out of his throat. The little green guy is just so cute!_

_“Here, Gumi-chan,” Izuku says as he picks up his new friend with one hand and holds his own bitten apple with the other. Gumi-chan lets out a squeal of delight before eagerly digging in._

_As Gumi-chan continues to eat, Izuku takes the moment to take in the scene before him. The sun is dipping into the horizon, dying the sky a beautiful orange. The ocean is calm and the sounds of its waves are soothing. There’s that random payphone booth a little distance away; he already checked to see that it wasn’t operational, but maybe it’d make decent, albeit uncomfortable shelter for the night-_

_“Hey Gumi-chan?” Izuku suddenly says._

_“Yesh, Izu?” Gumi-chan asks through a full mouth. There’s nothing left of the apple now except the core._

_“You said before that you’ve been waiting for me for a long time,” Izuku says quietly. Gumi-chan swallows before looking up at him with his large, beady eyes and smiling widely._

_“A really, really long time! I always knew that someone important was coming for me! And now here you are!”_

_“But how-”_

_An ear-splitting roar drowns out his words as a massive sea serpent rises from the ocean, sending waves crashing into the shore. Izuku scrambles to his feet, holding Gumi-chan tighter to his chest. It just might be his imagination, but that thing looks_ hungry _.  
_

_And he doubts that the one apple they have left will satisfy it._


	4. the morning after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have no idea what I'm doing.

Izuku blearily opened his eyes and sat up. It took him a moment to remember that yes, he was home, yes, he was in his All Might shrine of a bedroom, and yes, Gumi-chan was still an unresponsive egg beside him.

“Gumi-chan?” he called out, placing a hand on the smooth shell. Not so much as a twitch.

Izuku wrapped his arms around the egg and gently pressed his head against it. Closing his eyes, he murmured, “I wish Aniki was here. He’d know what-”

At his own words, Izuku froze and his eyes popped open in horrified realization.

“Aniki! _The others!_ ”

He practically fell out of his bed as he made a mad grab for the shorts that were hanging off of his chair. Dimly, in the back of his head, he made the observation that despite everything, the same outfit he’d been wearing for all that time was just as clean and neat as when he first went in.

Izuku yanked the shorts off the chair, causing a small, silver and green device to tumble out of one of the pockets and into his palm. He jammed his thumb onto a button on the side, but nothing happened.

He stared at the blank screen for a few seconds before slowly turning his head back to the egg still perched on his bed. His whole body began to tremble.

“Don’t...don’t tell me only the two of us made it out.”


	5. secret ingredient

Needless to say, Inko was very anxious over her son.

It had been two days since the _Incident_ with the computer. For the most part, Izuku stayed shut inside his room. He didn’t come out to the living room to watch heroes on television nor to the computer room (but Inko admitted she was fine with the second one for now). The few times she saw him out, he would have that dead, haunted look in his eyes while hugging the egg closely to him.

At least not during meal times. Izuku’s appetite seemed to have doubled, and with the egg still settled on his lap, he’d always devour whatever she put out in front of him, sometimes with tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. Often he would mumble between bites; Inko wasn’t sure if he was consciously aware of that he was talking, but she eagerly hung on to every word for some clue on what happened.

_“This is so good...”_

_“Nothing really had any taste back there for some reason...”_

_“Gumi-chan would love this...”_

_“I hope Gumi-chan hatches soon so he can have some too...”_

‘Gumi-chan’ came up quite a lot. It didn’t take much to figure out that Izuku was referring to the egg. Inko didn’t know how Izuku bonded with whatever was inside, but it was clear that it was beyond important to him.

So she made a decision. She didn’t support his dreams to be a hero back then, but at least there was something she could do for him now.

“Izuku,” Inko said just as he finished his plate of lunch curry. “Do you what my secret ingredient in all my cooking is?”

“Secret ingredient?” Izuku repeated, the confusion clear on his face. Inko smiled gently at him as she placed a hand over her heart.

“Whenever I make cook something, I’m always thinking, ‘I hope Izuku enjoys eating this. I hope he gets healthy and strong. I hope because I love him more than anything’. And those feelings go into my cooking. Food always tastes best when made with love.”

Izuku ducked his head as his freckled cheeks flushed red.

“Do you want to learn how to cook?”

His head popped back up. “Huh?”

“I don’t know what happened, but you love-” Inko paused for a moment before forcing herself to continue. “-Gumi-chan very much, don’t you? So when he comes back, I’m sure that he’d be happiest if his first meal came from you.”

Izuku froze. For a moment, Inko was afraid that she somehow said the wrong thing.

That was when Izuku’s eyes softened as he looked at down at the egg, a hand caressing its side. His voice came out as a whisper. “You really think that Gumi-chan would like that?”

“Yes,” she replied, smiling at her son again.

“I want to learn how to cook, then,” he replied resolutely, still focused on the egg. “For Gumi-chan.”


	6. a painful thought

Today was the last day of summer vacation and Gumi-chan didn’t hatch yet. The idea of leaving the egg home alone while he went to school and his mother work didn’t sit well with Izuku. So after dinner, he asked his mother for permission to go out so that he could buy something. She also promised to look after Gumi-chan until he got back.

He’d been back for a week and this was his first time going outside since then. It was almost surreal, seeing people (humans!) walking down the streets and cars being driven down the road. Still, there was something he had to do, and though it took him a moment to remember his way, he resolutely made his way to the closest shopping district.

He found a store that sold school supplies and bought a small, simple satchel that opened and closed with a flap. His task completed, he was on his way back when he got distracted by a display window full of television screens, All Might’s massive grin on all of them.

Izuku couldn’t help but to freeze. Sure, his room was still full of the top hero’s merchandise, but it was different seeing him in action, seeing him leap into the air, seeing him take down a villain who had taken a bunch of civilians hostage without allowing any of them to get hurt.

_**“I AM HERE!”** _

A painful lump formed in Izuku’s throat. 

_All Might’s really amazing. There’s danger in this world too, but being able to be able to smile like that to reassure the ones in trouble before saving them...I couldn’t...I didn’t..._

Izuku ran the rest of the way home.


	7. second flashback

_“ **Gargo Pellets**!” _

_Gumi-chan doesn’t let up on the massive, truck-sized red beetle flying straight towards them, but his bullets seem to bounce off of its armored head and not slow it down at all._

_“Gumi-chan! This isn’t working! We gotta try something else!” Izuku screams out from behind him. His bunny-eared friend snarls before swiftly turning around to grab Izuku (oh boy this is an odd reversal) and leaping away, just barely missing those deadly pincers that look like they could crush steel._

_Gumi-chan easily jumps from branch to branch, his bulky body belying his speed, but the only reason their pursuer hasn’t caught up is because it prefers to simply plow through the trees rather than go around them._

_That little device is glowing again in Izuku’s hand, and he brings it up and presses a button. A holographic image featuring the red beetle pops up from the screen._

_“Kuwagamon,” Izuku says out loud before desperately scrolling down to read up on its attributes, praying to find a hint on how to defeat it. It’s admittedly rather difficult trying to think straight, given the current circumstances._

_“Izu, if you have a plan, now would be a great time!” Gumi-chan yells. Izuku uncomfortably twists his head around to properly look at the red monstrosity once more, and he can hear his heart in his ears with it being so damn close._

_“At my signal, go straight down and shoot straight up! You’ll only have one arm since you’re carrying me, but still! Give it everything you’ve got!”_

_“Okay!”_

_Kuwagamon’s getting closer and closer, but not yet, not yet, not-_

_“NOW!”_

_Sure enough, Gumi-chan, rather leaping off from the next branch, jumps down with one arm pointed towards the sky just as Kuwagamon is directly above them._

_“ **Gargo Pellets**!”_

_And this time, the barrage goes right into Kuwagamon’s stomach, the only part of its body that isn’t armored._


	8. would it be so bad?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AaaAaaaaAAAAh
> 
> Also I remembered to bump up the rating if only for Bakugou's mouth.

Into his backpack went his schoolbooks, pencils, and bento (which contained the slightly misshapen onigiri he had formed along with his mother’s better made side dishes). Izuku was about to close it shut when his eyes fell on the latest of his Hero Analysis notebooks lying innocently on his desk. It hadn’t been touched since before…

His hand shook slightly as he slowly reached out for it, but it ended up in his bag all the same.  

Then it was Gumi-chan’s turn. He had made sure to line the bottom of the satchel with a soft old t-shirt that he had long since grown out of (but never threw out or gave away because it was a limited edition All Might one). Carefully, Izuku placed the egg inside.

 

 

 

 

As Izuku got closer and closer to his elementary school, he saw other kids happily chatting with each other, talking about how their summer vacations went. A bittersweet pang hit his heart upon the realization that there wasn't anyone here who would bother asking _him_.

_(“I have no idea how you got here, but your best chances for survival are sticking with me. And hey, it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to, even it’s just a little squirt like you.”_ _)_

_(”All Might’s only the coolest hero ever!”  
_

_“Cooler than me?”  
_

_“Yeah!”  
_

_“…you didn’t even hesitate.”)_

_(”You’re pretty smart for a squirt, Izuku. That plan of yours really saved our skins.”  
_

_“But Aniki! You’re hurt!”  
_

_“And I’d be a lot more than just hurt if it wasn’t for you.”)_

_(”You know, there’s no guarantee we’ll even find Mastemon.”  
_

_“We have to! If we can’t-!”  
_

_“Would it be so bad?”  
_

_“Huh?”  
_

_“Staying in the Digital World. With me. With Gumi-chan and the others. Would it be so bad?”)  
_

Izuku momentarily froze mid-step right outside the school gates as his grip around the straps of his backpack and satchel tightened. Would it have been? Sure, there was his mom, but- _  
_

**"OUTTA MY FUCKING WAY, DEKU!” _  
_**


	9. katsuki and the egg

Deku, by default, had a stupid face, but lately his face somehow got even stupider. The first day back from summer break, when Katsuki had shoved him to the side, Deku had merely stared at him with an expression he didn’t recognize.

“Kac...chan?”

Katsuki had given him one last push before heading inside. 

For the most part though, school life was the same old, same old. The week was almost over; homework was handed in, classwork was done, and the ground he walked on was worshiped by the rest of his gushing classmates. 

And as a matter of fact, Deku actually got less annoying. While he had that stupid, half-dazed face on, he was quieter, for one thing. He wasn’t tagging along everywhere Katsuki went, either. Instead, he seemed to spend all his time doodling in one of his dumb notebooks. 

Oh well. If the quirkless loser finally got some sense knocked into in his normally empty brain, Katsuki sure as hell wasn’t going to complain about it or wonder how it had happened.

It was lunch time right now, and Deku was called out of the classroom. Probably because the teacher got fed up over how he’d barely been paying attention in class as of late. 

“Hey, look what I’ve got here.”

Katsuki looked up from his sandwich to see one of his tag-alongs standing next to him, holding up a bag by its strap. Wasn’t that the one Deku had been lugging around everywhere...?

“Wanna hide this before Midoriya gets back? I bet it’ll be funny to see him freak out,” he said with a laugh.

Katsuki found himself not particularly caring, but Extra #1 must’ve been bored.

“At least check if there’s anything worth freaking over first,” another one said before opening up the flap to reveal its contents. 

“What is this thing?!” Extra #2 exclaimed, pulling out what could only be called a giant egg, brightly colored with a pattern of green splotches. His actions caught the attention of the rest of the class, and everyone began to crowd around him to catch a glimpse.

“Is it real?” “What kind of chicken laid that?” “It’s gotta be some toy.”

“It’s...warm,” Extra #2 murmured.

Okay, Katsuki could admit to himself, if not anyone else, that he was getting pretty damn curious about this thing, and he _was_ close enough to touch it...

Everyone was so enamored with the egg that no one noticed the classroom door opening.

_**“GUMI-CHAN!”** _


	10. reborn

Izuku could bring himself to feel a little guilty for barely paying attention to class for the past week; his hero notebook was filled with messy sketches of the many Digimon he’d come across in his journey. At least ten pages were purely dedicated to Gumi-chan and his various forms. It was little wonder that his teacher took him outside of the classroom to voice her concerns.

That said, when he stepped back into his classroom, all thoughts were wiped clear from his mind at the sight of Gumi-chan’s egg out of his satchel and in the hands of one of his classmates.

 _ **“Gumi-chan!”**_ he cried out in horror, shoving his way through his classmates. “Don’t hurt him!”

“’Don’t hurt him’? Wait, this thing is actually alive?” Gumi-chan’s captor asked. “Is this even allowed in school?”

Izuku felt his breath coming out in short, erratic bursts. Why, oh why did he leave Gumi-chan alone, he had to protect his partner, he couldn’t let him down, not like before, why did he always screw up when it really mattered-

Everyone froze as the egg began to _glow_.

It was easy to take advantage of the shock to grab back Gumi-chan’s egg. He could feel the heat emanating from the egg now, warm and soothing. For the next few seconds, no one spoke, enthralled by the light show.

The egg cracked open through the middle, revealing a pair of beady eyes. The shell then seemingly dissolved, leaving nothing behind but a pale green lump with a stubby horn and a long, streamer-like tail.

“Gumi-chan?” Izuku breathed out, holding the tiny creature close to his face. “Do...you know who I am?”

The lump blinked once before breaking out into a toothy grin. _“Izu!”_


	11. happy reunion

Izuku didn’t bother trying to stop the tears or the laughter in front of his classmates; for the moment, none of them mattered, only Gumi-chan did.

Gumi-chan let out giggles of his own as he rubbed himself into Izuku’s freckled cheek, not caring about the waterworks streaming down and splashing down onto his body. “Izu! Izu!”

“What the _fuck_ is that thing?!”

And then, courtesy of Kacchan, the moment was over.

“Um,” Izuku eloquently replied, the tears slowing down to a trickle. Gumi-chan took the moment to turn around and face the gaggle of children. His mouth was slightly ajar, but it quickly turned to another smile. With his tail wiggling, he chirped out, “Hi!”

 _“Cute!”_ at least three-quarters of the class squealed.

“No seriously, what the _fuck_ is this?!” Kacchan repeated, jabbing a finger towards the baby Digimon. Gumi-chan tilted his whole body in confusion before facing Izuku once more.

“Izu, what’s ‘fuck’?” 

Izuku froze. While everyone had long since gotten used to Kacchan’s colorful vocabulary, everyone immediately turned to him and either glared or gasped. Kacchan wildly looked around, unused to them showing him any emotion that could be construed as disapproval. 

Deciding that he wasn’t going to get an answer from anyone, Gumi-chan went onto the next question. “Izu, do you have food?”

“Oh!” 

A point of clarity to latch onto. “I hope you like the gyoza I made for lunch today-”

Gumi-chan gaped up at him as if Izuku was one of the Sovereigns themselves. “You can make _food_?!”


	12. third flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAaaaAAaah thanks for the reviews and kudos because I sure as hell don't know how I'm still writing for this. Also, I'm thinking I need to balance out the cuteness with...not necessarily angst, but...

_The flickering flames of the campfire are pleasantly warm. Gumi-chan lets out a small sigh of contentment in his sleep as he snuggles deeper into his partner’s lap. Izuku can’t help but to smile at the action, but after a moment it’s wiped away with a look of sadness._

_“You okay there, Izuku?” Aniki asks, poking a long stick into the fire, causing sparks to fly up into the night sky._

_“Gumi-chan almost got hurt again today, and it’s all my fault,” Izuku whispers, his eyes downcast and seeing nothing but the Rookie's peacefully slumbering face. “I wasn’t fast enough to get away, so he...he...”_

_“I saved your butts and everything turned out alright in the end, so don’t worry too much about it,” Aniki says with his trademark cocky grin._

_“But why does Gumi-chan keep doing that?” Izuku wonders out loud, mindfully keeping his voice low as to not wake their Digimon. “He’s always fighting so hard to protect me, even though we’ve haven’t known each other that long.”_

_Aniki’s lips stay quirked up, but Izuku’s not sure if it’s a smirk or a grimace now. There’s definitely a hardness in his eyes that he’s not used to seeing even considering the short time they've been traveling. “How did you describe your first meeting with Gumi-chan again? That he said he was waiting for you for a long time?”_

_Izuku nods. Aniki chuckles, a sad, bitter sound, then tosses the entire stick into the fire. Despite the warmth of the flames, there's no stopping the involuntary shiver that shakes Izuku's whole body._

_“You weren’t brought to the Digital World because of anything like fate or destiny, and it definitely wasn’t fate that brought you and that little bundle of data you’re holding right now together.”_

_Izuku can’t help but to tremble. He’s starting to get a little scared. Just what is Aniki talking about...?_

_“But the bond between a partnered human and Digimon...well,” Aniki pauses before plowing on. In the dim light, Izuku just barely makes out how the older boy’s blue eyes are starting to mist over. “You can’t deny it. All those feelings and the devotion and the_ love _, and you can’t help but to try to return it in full...”_

_Aniki reaches out to ruffle Izuku’s hair. “Even if nothing else in this world or the next makes any sense, even if you don’t know where to turn, at least you can always trust your partner to have your back.”_

_Izuku’s confused. Aniki has never...talked to him like this before. His eyes slide over to the larger Digimon slumbering behind Aniki’s back._

_“Aniki,” he ventures softly. “Is that how you feel about Cyberdramon?”_

_The hand in his dark green hair freezes for a solid two seconds before being withdrawn. “Cyberdramon and I are one big complicated mess and you haven’t leveled up enough to unlock my backstory.”_

_Izuku pouts when Aniki actually laughs at his own joke._


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must admit, I wasn't expecting much of a reaction with the Aniki reveal...^-^ Well, in any case, I'll get this out of the way now: you don't actually need to know Ryo's backstory for this fic, but considering everything about it is continuity snarl after continuity snarl, this Ryo is a vaguely AU version in which most of the really important, traumatizing beats from the Wonderswan games DID happen to him but he never ended up in the Tamers universe. And maybe some more depressing things happened between those and him meeting Izuku. You'll only be seeing itty bits and pieces of him at a time in this fic tho'! And...not this chapter ^-^ 
> 
> Thanks again!

Generally, lunch was supposed to be eaten in the classroom, but it was never a hard and fast rule. There was a quiet, secluded spot outside behind the shed where the gym equipment kept. Or at least, it was usually quiet and secluded when there wasn't a gym class going on. There wasn’t much time left for lunch, and Izuku wanted to make the most of it.

With the bento box on his knees, Izuku carefully lifted out a single gyoza with his chopsticks and held it out in front of the baby Digimon. Gumi-chan eagerly opened his mouth wide to bite off half of the fried dumping. His eyes promptly doubled in size and practically _shone_.

“YUMMY!” he squealed, hopping side to side. “You _really_ made this, Izu?”

“I made the filling and wrapped them, but Mom was the one who fried them. She says I’m still too little to use the stove,” Izuku answered, his cheeks flushed with both embarrassment and pride. “Are they really okay?”

Gumi-chan wordlessly leapt up to devour the other half. Izuku laughed as he picked up another gyoza.

It took less than ten minutes for Gumi-chan to finish off the entire bento almost single handedly. Those shining eyes were drooping now; the little baby Digimon looked ready to sleep off his meal. Izuku gently took him into his arms and cradled him.

“Best food ever,” Gumi-chan mumbled. “Love you Izu.”

A lump formed in Izuku’s throat as he leaned back against the shed, holding his partner closer to him.

“I love you too, Gumi-chan,” Izuku whispered. A soft snore was his reply.

“Now that you're here, there are lots of other delicious things you can eat from now on. Katsudon and hamburg steak and omurice...”

( _”GUMI-CHAN!”_

_“Are...you hurt...Izu?”_

_“Gumi-chan, no, I’m so sorry, so please,_ please _be okay!”_ )

His grip tightened protectively around the tiny body.

“And you don’t have to fight ever again. I promise.”


	14. piece of peace

With Gumi-chan soundly snoozing in his arms, Izuku didn’t have the heart to get up and risk waking the little guy up. So even when the bell signaled the end of the lunch period, he stayed in his spot behind the gym shed. He’d have to face another scolding later, but he didn’t mind too much. Besides, it was Friday.

For the first time in two weeks, Izuku found himself at, well, it wasn’t _exactly_ peace. But a few of his worries were assuaged. Gumi-chan was back, alive and whole, with his memories (and appetite) miraculously intact. They were together again, just like Izuku wanted, and this time without anyone trying to kill them or control them or-

He couldn't help the shudder running down his body. Hopefully he didn't wake up Gumi-Chan.

Goodbye, semi-peace of mind.

Izuku stared up into the sky, watching fat clouds lazily drifting by. Gumi-chan had naturally always been in the forefront of his mind ever since he got back from the Digital World, but he’d still didn’t know what happened to his other friends, or even where they were.

He couldn’t remember much of his final moments in that other world, considering the circumstances. There was that battle, so many explosions going off...Aniki trying to fight off their attackers, but it was too much even for him and one blast got past him and Cyberdramon...Gumi-chan stepping in front of Izuku to shield him, Gumi-chan’s body dissolving into sparkles of pixels and light...he remembered crying, how everything seemed muted and blurred the moment the last bits of Gumi-chan disappeared...had someone been holding him, calling out his name while he screamed out Gumi-chan’s? Had it been Aniki? No, it couldn’t have been, whoever holding him didn’t feel bigger, there was that _warmth_ , it must’ve been-

“Izu, you’re thinking loud again.”

“Ah!”

Izuku looked down to see his partner awake, a tiny, fond smile on his face. Gumi-chan then promptly planted that face into Izuku’s chest.

“I won’t leave you again,” the muffled voice said. “Never. And one day, we’ll see the others again too.”

There was no stopping Izuku’s waterworks this time.


	15. Chapter 15

Izuku had taken his entire school bag with him in his rush out of the classroom, so the moment the final bell rang, he got up with Gumi-chan, still safe in his arms, and left. He knew he’d be out of the school gates before any of his classmates. He’d be leaving the satchel behind, but hopefully it’d still be there when he came back to school on Monday.

“Where are we going, Izu?” Gumi-chan asked as Izuku walked down the sidewalk.

“We’re going home,” Izuku replied with a soft smile. “Mom won’t be back from work, but I can’t wait for you to meet her later.”

“Mom?” Gumi-chan repeated, scrunching up his face in concentration. “You mean the bigger human who takes care of you?”

“Yeah!” Izuku said, nodding. _I’m happy he remembers what I told him about her._ “She’s been teaching me to cook lately, but she’s way better than me!”

Gumi-chan’s gasp was filled with shock and awe, and a small trail of saliva began to drip down from the side of his mouth. “The food from before was the best thing I ever had! And she makes _better_ food?!”

Izuku giggled. Or at least, he would’ve, had not what sounded like an explosion went off in the next street over. 

( _everything is exploding around him, his hand is tightly gripped in another’s, gotta keep running, gotta keep moving...!_ )

And before he even realized it, he found himself with what was basically a front row seat to a hero/villain battle.

_Why...why did I come here? I don't want this anymore. Not if it means-_

"Izu! We gotta help!"

"What? _**No**!"_


	16. cultural differences

Gumi-chan struggled in earnest, and it took Izuku everything he had to keep the little Digimon in his arms. “We can’t just jump in there!”

“But we do it all the time!”

“You literally just hatched! And things are different in my world! There’s already a pro hero here!”

Izuku recognized the hero; there was no way he’d ever have trouble remembering the Battle Hero, Gunhead, and his Gatling quirk. Not when this hero was so similar to Gumi-chan’s own Champion form. But Gunhead wasn’t using his quirk to fight his crocodile-headed opponent, instead blocking an attack from those massive jaws with a gauntlet-clad arm before flipping the villain to the ground in one smooth movement.

Gumi-chan finally stilled as the rest of the civilians watching the fight around them erupted into cheers. Izuku let out a small sigh of relief and slightly  loosened his hold at the sight of the villain being cuffed and taken away by the police officers. Thank goodness; the fight was dealt with quickly, and there were no causalities. All thanks to the efforts of Gunhead-

It took Gumi-chan a moment to realize that Izuku wasn’t holding him so tightly anymore, and another to hop straight out of his arms and past the cops still holding back the crowd. Izuku shrieked when he saw that his partner was bouncing straight towards the pro hero himself and scrambled to catch him. Unfortunately, being an actual human child (maybe a bit on the shorter side) meant that the cops didn't have much trouble actually doing their jobs on him.

“Hi!"

Gunhead looked down to see what looked like a large piece of green tea mochi smiling at him.

"That was cool! But why didn’t you just shoot him?”


	17. home at last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...uh, hi? Boy it's been awhile and this is super short...well, will attempt to update this a little more regularly...

After that minor fiasco (which involved a lot of bowing and apologies), Izuku was quiet the rest of the way home. Gumi-chan, for once, sensing that something wasn’t quite right, was the same. It wasn’t until Izuku shut the door behind him that the baby Digimon spoke up.

“Um, Izu?” Gumi-chan ventured, his high pitched voice almost coming out as a pained whimper. “Are you mad at me?”

Oh, that just wasn’t _fair_. 

Izuku sighed. “No, I’m not mad at you. There’s just a lot of stuff I have to teach you about my world.”

Gumi-chan tilted his body upwards to better look at his partner’s face. “What are you going to teach me first?”

There really was only one way to properly introduce Gumi-chan to the concept of heroes. Sure, Izuku had always babbled about them back at the Digital World and there was that fight they watched earlier…

…and sure, Izuku didn’t want to become a pro hero himself anymore, given everything that had happened…

He went straight to the computer room, unable to help the skip in his step. “I can finally show you that super cool video of All Might!”


	18. enough for now

Inko wasn’t sure what to make of Gumi-chan at first. It didn’t help at all that she didn’t know _what_ he was. She had heard of those rare cases of animals developing quirks, but that didn’t seem to be the case here.

So she watched. She watched her son go everywhere, do everything with the tiny green lump in his arms; watching television, reading a book, taking a bath. And little by little, the apprehension began to fade. 

Gumi-chan’s beady black eyes always shone like stars, looking at Izuku with so much love and adoration it was hard to believe all those emotions could be contained in that little body. He was currently perched on the kitchen table, those shining eyes wide and eager, as her son whisked eggs in a bowl.

“What’s that what’s that what’s that-”

“It’s the tamagoyaki for today’s lunch.”

“Tama-what? That’s yummy too, right?”

“Yeah! Tamagoyaki is sweet and fluffy and-”

“Yay!” 

“Gumi-chan!  Don’t try to jump into the bowl!”

Inko couldn’t help smiling and turned back to the vegetables she was chopping. She still didn’t know what Gumi-chan was, she still didn’t know what happened in those ten minutes Izuku had gone missing in, but it was clear that Gumi-chan and Izuku loved each other. And for now, that was enough.


	19. a vow

Gumi-chan had hatched only a few days ago, but he really, really liked Izu’s world.

Just like Izu had promised, the food was _amazing_. He had always enjoyed eating, but the flavors back in the Digital World were _nothing_ like the ones here. He could remember how apples tasted like there, nowhere as yummy as the ones Izu took from the bowl on the kitchen table.

And Izu and the bigger human (bigger than even Aniki, _mom_ , that what she was called) could _make_ even more delicious things. He couldn’t help but to hop up and down whenever they were in the kitchen, the two of them mixing and chopping things up for him to try, smiling at him as they did so.

There were other cool things too besides just the food. After hearing about the hero non-stop, Gumi-chan finally saw the video of All Might. And, oh, he finally understood, a little. Sure, Gumi-chan was positive that there were Digimon out there who could beat this particular human in a straight fight (himself and Izu in their most powerful form included, of course), but that wasn't why Izu was always talking about him, right? The way he smiled, the way he reassured others that they were safe now because he'd protect them...

There wasn't anyone like him in the Digital World, a place where the strong regularly preyed on the weak to get stronger still.

Not everything here was happy, though. Gumi-chan could see the sad look on his partner’s face, usually when they started to talk about the Digital World. Izu had shown him the Digivice, and how he couldn’t get in contact with anyone else. His partner had said he had lost track of them during the last battle…

There were fuzzy bits in Gumi-chan’s head. He could remember being alone, waiting for someone who was promised to him. He could remember the first time he met Izu and how happy he was that they were finally together. He could remember their first battle. He could remember their friends. He could remember Izu holding him and telling him stories of the human world.

But he couldn’t remember that last battle, how he had died. He thought he kind of remembered hearing someone say once that sometimes Digimon didn’t retain all their memories if they were lucky enough to reenter the Cycle. His last memory before waking up as a baby was of Izu crying out his name, begging him not to leave, apologizing for being a weak partner…

Gumi-chan didn’t want to see Izu cry like that ever again. They still had each other, but their friends weren’t here. And as he snuggled deeper into Izu’s arms, both of them warm and comfortable in Izu’s soft bed (so much better than the hard ground), he vowed to get stronger. Stronger than he was before as to protect his partner better.


	20. fourth flashback

_**“Gargo Pellets!”** _

_**“Cyber Nail!”** _

_Izuku can’t help shuddering at the sight of the horde of Vilemon bursting into shards of multi-colored light. This is something he’s seen several times by now, but he's not sure if he'll ever get used to it. As the shards get absorbed into Gumi-chan’s and Cyberdramon’s bodies, he comforts himself with the knowledge that they at least saved the lone Digimon that the Vilemon were ganging up on and torturing._

_While Gumi-chan reverts back to his Rookie form, Izuku picks up the tattered, dark blue pointed hat laying by the side of the road. He kneels down and holds it out to the figure in the matching cloak still lying on the ground. “I think this is yours.”_

_Though the Digimon weakly raises his head, his blue eyes widen at the sight of his saviors. His voice comes out in shaky rasps. “Could this…be fate? You’re…children._ Human _children…with Digimon partners…”_

_Izuku yelps as he’s yanked back by the collar of his shirt. Aniki roughly shoves him behind him, his arm stretched out as to protect him. Cyberdramon, likely sensing his partner’s wariness, growls threateningly._

_“You’re the first Digimon here I’ve met that knows what we are,” Aniki says tersely. “Who are you?”_

_Izuku, still clutching the hat, inches closer to Aniki’s side. Gumi-chan quickly takes his own place by Izuku as well, readying to pounce at a moment if needed._

_The cloaked Digimon barely manages to pull himself up to his feet using a sun-topped staff for support. “Someone who desperately needs your help. This skirmish has proven to me that I can’t do this on my own.”_

_“Do what?” Izuku can’t help asking just as Aniki says, “Help you with what?”_

_The cloak obscures the bottom half of the Digimon’s face, but the edge of a smile is just visible. “Protecting another human child.”_


	21. in need

On his desk was the notebook titled _~~Hero Analysis for the Future No. 4~~ **Memories**._

Not for the first time, both during his adventures and after, Izuku thought about how nice it would have been to have a notebook with him back then.

“I see me!” Gumi-chan said excitedly as Izuku flipped through the notebook. The baby Digimon jumped onto the lined paper, right on top of a sketch of his Rookie form.

“Yeah. I drew lots of pictures of you while waiting for you to come back,” Izuku replied with a smile as he rubbed Gumi-chan’s head, mindful of his horn, before gently pushing him off as to turn to a fresh page. Gumi-chan giggled during the entire exchange.

Opening a desk drawer, Izuku reached in and pulled out his Digivice. One button push and scroll later, and a holographic, static image of a Wizardmon is projected from the screen.

Izuku frowned at it as he poked it, the image reacting to his touch as it rotated left and right before showing the listed stats, just like the Digivice would do for any other Digimon in its data banks.

_**Wizardmon** _

_**Level: Champion  
Type: Demon Man  
Attribute: Data** _

The rest of the information given didn’t have anything about the Wizardmon he had known and traveled with. The one in their little group most interested in hearing about heroes and quirks from Izuku, often asking questions whenever they had a rare moment of rest. The one who had bravely risked his life for the sake of another child, a child whom he loved and cherished dearly.

_(”I don’t get it. I don’t take this stuff lightly, but you’re pretty much already her partner in all but name. Why won’t you make it official? You’d be able to protect her better.“  
_

_“Ryo, I am sorry, but I…I could never burden her like that. Having someone like me for a partner only end up hurting her further.”_

_“You really think you can keep that attitude up when the Dark Forces are sending actual threats after us now?”)_

Gumi-chan was quiet as Izuku carefully began to draw. First was the hat, then came the cloak, then the staff. After Wizardmon’s likeness was finished, Izuku paused for a moment before adding a smaller, short-haired figure by his side, holding his free hand.

“Oh,” Gumi-chan breathed.


	22. spotlight

Deku suddenly became the most popular kid in class.

It wasn’t hard to see how it happened. The shitty blob he’d been bringing with him everywhere won everyone over in an instant. And no, that stupid thing wasn’t Deku’s quirk, no matter what that liar said. Though Katsuki couldn’t even bring it up; the first time he had tried to confront them since the blob had hatched, two shrill girls had yelled at him for picking on the poor little baby.

~~_(”Hey! Izu and I can take on anyone!”_ ~~

~~_“Gumi-chan, shh!”)_ ~~

As Katsuki shoveled his lunch into his mouth at his desk, his eyes zeroed in on Deku and the Blob. Their teacher actually let that thing stay in the classroom on the condition it stay quiet during lessons, because of some dumb excuse about how they couldn’t be separated. Right now Deku was feeding the blob with half the class surrounding them to watch.

“Yummy! Today’s lunch is super good too!”

“So cute!”

Something slightly unpleasant was brewing inside of Katsuki’s stomach, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t his spicy curry. Still, he quashed it down. Why should he care about Deku anymore? His classmates would get bored eventually.

It wasn’t like the Blob could actually do anything besides eat and look cute. Useless weakling, just like Deku himself. A perfect match.


	23. a little time

At some point, Izuku had almost forgotten what it was like to be lonely, his quirkless status having doomed him to be ignored or jeered by his peers. But in the Digital World, Gumi-chan had come into the picture, someone who seemed to solely exist to unconditionally love and protect him. Then Aniki had come along, and then the rest of their little group, the ones he considered his friends, his family…

~~…his brothers-in-arms…~~

That said, coming back to school and his classmates actually being interested in hanging out with him was almost…disorienting, to be honest. Gumi-chan behaved himself sitting on Izuku’s desk during lessons (well, behaved well enough for Asanuma-sensei to tolerate him for not being _too_ much of a distraction), but as soon as the bell rang for lunch, almost everyone would immediately swarm the adorable little Digimon to coo at him.

Gumi-chan didn’t mind the attention, especially since he was getting fed during the time, but something about his classmates surrounding them caused Izuku’s heart to beat faster in his tightening chest. So after two lunches spent like that, Izuku went back to the sports shed for privacy. _  
_

He found himself able to relax a little again as he popped a octopus-shaped wiener into Gumi-chan’s wide and open mouth. As the wiener was followed by a bite of onigiri (he was getting better at making those, no umeboshi in these, turned out Gumi-chan wasn’t fond of sour flavors), he hoped that his classmates wouldn’t find his hiding spot any time soon. _  
_

The weather was pleasantly warm today, and Izuku found his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Huh. He thought he went to bed early enough last night. His head began to droop, and he was barely aware of his partner making a worried-sounding chirp in response. _  
_

“Izu, don’t we have to go back soon?”

“Yeah. Just let me rest of my eyes for a little.”

They still had a little time left for lunch.

Still had a little time.

Still...had...a little...time… _  
_

_(”We can’t leave Leomon! We still have time to go back for him!”  
_

_“He gave his life for us to escape! Do you want to waste his sacrifice?!”_

_“No! We can still go back for him!“  
_

_“He’s GONE!”)  
_

**“Bubble Blow!”** _  
_

Izuku’s eyes popped open at what felt like a dozen minuscule hands smacking his face. His breath was coming out in heavy pants. Why was his chest heaving? 

“Izu, are you ok?” Gumi-chan asked, his usually high voice soft with concern. _  
_


End file.
